Salt-induced nutritional and metabolic shifts in halophytes: implications for food security

Plant species vary in their response to salinity: some crops show a degree of salt tolerance, while halophytes - whether wild or cultivated - are characterized by a high capacity to thrive under saline conditions. Halophytes are considered a source of valuable secondary metabolites with potential economic value, yet they might also produce secondary metabolites posing nutritional challenges for human consumption. Moreover, halophytes often accumulate high concentrations of sodium and chlorides. However, a clear understanding of how salinity modulates the production of both the beneficial and non-nutritional factors is limited because widely variable in relation to specific environments and species. This review, written in the framework of the COST Action SUSTAIN (CA22144) on the sustainable use of salt-affected land, explores the main potential and challenges associated with the introduction of halophytes in the human diet through a revision of the effects of salinity on salt tolerant plants' secondary metabolism and mineral elements' accumulation. Moreover, the potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties of halophytes are discussed. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.